Monitor for Mac & PC?

Hello all! This is my first post here. Hope it ends up in the correct forum... Anyways, I don't have a Mac yet, and I won't be able to afford one until some time next year, but I play with them at CompUSA whenever I can and I'm convinced I'll be a "switcher" in a matter of months.

My question is in regards to a computer monitor. I'm in need of a new, larger monitor than the one I have now (15 inch freebie from a friend) because I'm beginning to do freelance graphic design more steadily. As much as I'd love a 23" HD Cinema, There's just no way I could even afford the (almost discontinued) 15" studio display, and I don't really need a flat panel monitor anyways. I was thinking about getting a $399 LaCie 19" Blue CRT, since I could use it for my current AMD Duron 1Gh PC (Piece of Crap) until I get a spiffy new PowerMac next year. It seems to be a good piece of hardware that has big screen real estate for relatively cheap. I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with this monitor, good or bad, or if I should be looking at a different brand or model, or if I'm gonna burn in hell for not using a flat panel with a new Mac

So, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Is there any flicker on the highest resolutions? What's the image quality like? That sort of thing. Most of the work I'll be doing will consist of graphic layouts on Quark and Photoshop, and hopefully some video editing on Final Cut Pro. I'm not really big on playing games, except the occasional Bejeweled
Thanks in advance!

I don't have a Mac but I just bought a Viewsonic 17" CRT (the one with the silver edge, it's on the front page of Viewsonic's website) and I luv it.
I too came from a 15" and it's a helluva improvement.
It's a bit tough to configure, but it looks real nice when it's all done right.
The only complaint I have is that annoying brow at the top of the screem but other than that it's great.
No problems with flicker even @ 68Hz @1280x1024.

Got it at Fry's for $200 after a $50 rebate, you can find it about the same online.

Not as big as that 19" you're looking at, but still a kick ass monitor for the price.
Nice and big and flat and cheap.

Thanks for the reply! I guess I should have said that I'm really interested in a 19" monitor over a 17", for the graphics side of things, but I checked out the Viewsonic website and your monitor looks really cool. Also, my top price is $400, which coupled with something like the Dual 867 would get me a new desktop for just over 2K.

Anyone else recommend any 19" monitors for graphics that I could use both with a PC and a Mac?

Staff Member

The Samsung SyncMaster 955DF is the best price/performance big (19") CRT monitor I've found. It is probably still available, although more and more Samsung models are LCDs now.

You can compare monitor specs and learn quite a bit, but it is generally hard to gauge how long a monitor will last. Sometimes a more expensive monitor is of better quality and will retain its good-looking display longer than a cheaper monitor that has similar specs. Magazines and other reviewers test new monitors but can rarely say anything about longevity.

Example: I asked an Apple Solutions Expert about the Viewsonic P215 and he said they are great when new but the geometry and color go out quickly. He also said that some Samsung monitors are exceptional and some are so-so. This is just anecdotal, but I'm passing it along for what it's worth.

Originally posted by jrv3034 Thanks for the reply! I guess I should have said that I'm really interested in a 19" monitor over a 17", for the graphics side of things, but I checked out the Viewsonic website and your monitor looks really cool. Also, my top price is $400, which coupled with something like the Dual 867 would get me a new desktop for just over 2K.

Anyone else recommend any 19" monitors for graphics that I could use both with a PC and a Mac?

jrv3034

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Go with LaCie if you can! I think you wanted this one. All prepress people I know use them, and I wish I had one, but a 17" Apple display is not too shabby. Plus it shows Mac/PC compatibility via standard VGA.

I use a 17" monitor a ViewSonic E70-3 and it works fine on my PM G4 through the standart S-VGA port.

ViewSonic monitors are also good quality and they are also designed to work with macs (the cd that comes with them includes stuff for Mac OS and Windows) Plus they have a three year warrenty (like most half desent monitors)

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